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Chapter 19
Just before an inexplicable emotion surged within her, Dahee pouted.
“But you can’t just get away with it! If you want to marry Mom, you need my permission first!”
“What do I have to do to get your permission?”
Suppressing the fleeting emotion, Yuseok asked with a friendly smile. Faced with a smile that would usually make a child cry, Dahee calmly began to think.
“Hmm~ First, you have to know Mom really well. That way you won’t fight! But even if you do know her, it won’t be easy.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, my mom sleeps like a princess—flat on her back, going kooo~. If her bed isn’t comfy, she can’t sleep deeply. You didn’t know that, did you? But if someone big like you sleeps next to her, don’t you think it’d be uncomfortable? What if you roll over and crush her or something?”
“But Miseon has a really bad sleeping habit…”
“How do you know that?!”
Dahee, who had been smugly listing off things about her mom, suddenly slammed the table. Yuseok and Miseon’s faces flushed red.
Dahee turned to Miseon with a look of disbelief.
“Mom! Did you sleep with that man?!”
“D-Dahee, listen, that’s…”
“You said my spot next to you would be mine forever! Liar!”
That same expression that Miseon had missed earlier appeared again. And suddenly, the lingering emotions buried deep inside Miseon began to stir.
Oh Nayoon instinctively seized Miseon’s emotion. She couldn’t afford to make the same mistake as during the read-through. This emotion wasn’t meant to be released yet. But that didn’t mean it should be extinguished, either.
“Miseon doesn’t not know—it’s just that she hasn’t realized it yet.”
She had to keep the wave of emotion Sua had triggered in a calm state—for now. To let it surge at the ending.
It was difficult, but she managed.
For the first time, Oh Nayoon felt acting was fun.
* * *
“I’ve decided. I’ll judge for myself whether you deserve to be my dad!”
After capturing the shocked reactions of Miseon and Yuseok to Dahee’s declaration, the crew moved to another set—this time, a kitchen in a home.
Since the scene was about Yuseok cooking at Dahee’s request, the set was already filled with the delicious smell of food.
As it was Dahee’s last indoor shoot, they filmed her parts first, then planned to shoot Yuseok’s cooking later using a stand-in.
While checking the side dishes on the table, the mom caught a passing staff member.
“Can we switch the soft-boiled egg to a fully cooked one? Sua gets hives if she eats undercooked yolk.”
“Oh! I’ll make a replacement request right away!”
The staff hurried off, and I moved to change into a new outfit.
Soon, the shoot began.
“Good dads have to cook delicious meals every day!”
Though the judge (Dahee) had some very subjective criteria, Yuseok didn’t argue and put on an apron.
Luckily, he could cook pretty well—especially basic side dishes, which he handled like a pro.
The soybean paste stew was bubbling nicely, the kimchi fried rice sautéed in scallion oil smelled amazing, and the fried egg on top of the rice was perfect.
“Want to taste it?”
Yuseok blew on a spoonful of kimchi fried rice and offered it to Dahee, who was hovering nearby. She gave him a sideways glance and cautiously took a bite.
When her eyes widened in surprise, Yuseok grinned.
“Cooking involves fire and knives. It’s dangerous. Go sit next to your mom.”
After feeding her another spoonful, he sent her to the table and finished up the cooking.
Along with the kimchi fried rice, he prepared must-have side dishes: napa cabbage kimchi, sweet and crunchy soy-glazed black beans, crisp mung bean sprouts, and bulgogi to round out the protein.
Seeing the full table, Miseon and Dahee gasped.
“Whoa, the table legs might break!”
“Looks delicious! …Er, I mean, it looks decent.”
Miseon and Yuseok watched fondly as Dahee, who was drooling, quickly changed her words and began eating.
“Thanks for the meal!”
With seaweed flakes and a perfectly cooked egg on top, the kimchi fried rice looked irresistible. Dahee took a big bite and chewed thoughtfully.
“How is it, Dahee? Tastes good, right?”
“Hmmm…”
Tilting her head, she savored the flavor and swallowed.
“I need to try more to be sure.”
Then she began to shovel the rice into her mouth like a warrior. Miseon and Yuseok, smiling warmly, took turns offering her side dishes.
The first condition of being a good dad—passed with flying colors.
Since they hadn’t had a separate lunch break for the eating scene, everyone was hungry. So, as soon as filming ended, they ate the props.
We quickly emptied the plates while the staff carefully cleared the equipment to avoid raising dust.
“Sua, do you not like eggs? If you’re picky, you won’t grow up big like me,” Kwon Du-il said sternly. But as if expecting a trade, he pushed his plate toward me.
I transferred the egg white-less fried egg to his bowl.
“I get hives from undercooked yolk.”
“What?! You have an allergy?”
“Not a full-blown allergy—just a little itchiness on my arms and legs.”
“Still, if you’d eaten it without knowing, it could’ve been serious.”
Oh Nayoon looked at me with concern. But it wasn’t that big a deal.
It’s likely just an immune response that developed in childhood and should go away in a year or two. If it’s fully cooked, I’m fine.
Du-il poked the yolk with his spoon. It oozed slowly, still undercooked.
He grumbled in frustration.
“You should’ve told the adults earlier. It’s not hard to cook it fully. They would’ve fixed it right away.”
Maybe that’s exactly why the busy staff forgot. Since I don’t go into shock from eating it, Mom probably didn’t think it was a big deal.
Even if I made a fuss, people would just say I’m being difficult. In this industry, it’s easy to get labeled as a spoiled child star.
“I’ll quietly mention it to the PD later.”
This was a breach of the safety clause we added to the contract, so if I apply some pressure, it shouldn’t happen again.
But since I couldn’t say that out loud, I smiled awkwardly.
Du-il and Nayoon immediately understood.
“You already told them?!”
“And they still gave you a soft-boiled egg?”
“Everyone’s busy. I didn’t eat it, so it’s fine.”
“Fine? Food is the one thing you should be extra careful about. Want me to talk to the PD?”
I agreed with the sentiment but politely declined. In the end, how actors are treated on set depends on their name value—or the agency backing them.
If Nayoon stepped in now, it’d just be a temporary fix. I calmed her down and continued eating.
Du-il watched me, a serious expression on his face, and was the last one of us to finish eating.
* * *
“Second condition for a good dad!”
“There’s more…?”
“A good dad plays with kids a lot!”
Ignoring Miseon’s sigh, Dahee declared confidently.
And so, the three of them headed to a playground.
“Is a playground enough? Wouldn’t an amusement park be more fun?”
“You can’t go there often. But you can come to the playground every day!”
Instead of giving the real reason (production budget), Dahee gave a perfect answer. Then she dashed off, her little feet bouncing on the soft rubber flooring.
Yuseok and Miseon half-jogged after her. Just as Dahee was about to climb the jungle gym, Miseon stopped her.
“Let’s go on the swings first! The jungle gym is too high and scary, okay?”
Dahee looked down at her mom’s anxious face, then nodded.
Swings, seesaws, rocking horses—they were simple rides, but Dahee had a blast, and Yuseok played along, sweating like crazy.
Exhausted from trying to keep up, Miseon sat on a bench and watched the two.
Seeing them so happy, she thought the second condition would be easily met, too.
“Come here, mister!”
Dahee placed Yuseok beneath the slide, then climbed up. But she didn’t stop at the top—she began climbing the slide’s supporting structure.
Yuseok and Miseon, who had been watching carefully, froze.
“Third condition for a good dad! A good dad always keeps his family safe!”
“Dahee, no! Come down!”
“That’s dangerous, Dahee!”
“Catch me if you can!”
From the top of the slide frame, Dahee waved her arms, wobbling dangerously.
